especially in highly contaminated soils. The results indicate that the mixture of activated carbon and diatomite is a prospective adsorbent for the in situ bioremediation of soils highly contaminated with crude oil.

Vaz, E., Penfound, E., 2020. Mars terraforming: A geographic information systems framework. Life Sciences in Space Research 24, 50-63.

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214552419301415 This study has developed a GIS framework that uses spatial environmental and climate data to better understand areas on Earth that share the most environmental similarities to Mars. The purpose of developing this framework is to determine which vegetation is most likely to survive in closed bioregenerative life support systems on Mars, using as many in-situ materials and environmental elements as possible. Using remotely sensed climate data, digital elevation models, and vegetation occurrence data sourced from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility, 2018, Global Biodiversity Information Facility, 2018, Global Biodiversity Information Facility, 2018, three Mars-like study areas on Earth were analysed (the Antarctic Peninsula, Ellesmere Island, and Devon Island). This study found that plants that are part of the Bryophyte and Tracheophyta phyla are worthy of further research in regard to possible vegetation candidates that could be brought to Mars. In addition, the most promising candidate of the entire study is the genus Poa, which is found in the phylum Tracheophyta.

Vila, J., Tian, Z., Wang, H., Bodnar, W., Aitken, M.D., 2020. Isomer-selective biodegradation of high-molecular- weight azaarenes in PAH-contaminated environmental samples. Science of The Total Environment 707, 135503.

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S004896971935497X Polycyclic aromatic nitrogen heterocycles, or azaarenes, normally co-occur with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in contaminated soils. We recently reported that nontarget analysis using high resolution mass spectrometry of samples from four PAH-contaminated sites revealed a previously unrecognized diversity and abundance of azaarene isomers and their methylated derivatives. Here we evaluated their biodegradability by natural microbial communities from each site in aerobic microcosm incubations under biostimulated conditions. The removal of total quantifiable azaarenes ranged from 15 to 85%, and was related to the initial degree of weathering for each sample. While three-ring azaarenes were readily biodegradable, the five-ring congeners were the most recalcitrant. Microbial-mediated removal of four-ring congeners varied for different isomers, which might be attributed to the position of the nitrogen atom that also influences the physicochemical properties of azaarenes and possibly the susceptibility to transformation by relevant microbial enzymes. The presence of methyl groups also influenced azaarene biodegradability, which decreased with increasing degree of methylation. Several oxidation products of azaarenes were detected, including ketones and dioxygenated derivatives of three- and four-ring compounds. Our results indicate the susceptibility of some azaarenes to bioremediation, while suggesting the potential implications for risk from the persistence of less-biodegradable isomers and the formation of oxidized-azaarene derivatives.

Vo, N.N.Q., Nomura, Y., Muranaka, T., Fukushima, E.O., 2019. Structure - activity relationships of pentacyclic triterpenoids as inhibitors of cyclooxygenase and lipoxygenase enzymes. Journal of Natural Products 82, 3311- 3320.

https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jnatprod.9b00538 Pentacyclic triterpenes may be active agents and provide a rich natural resource of promising compounds for drug development. The inhibitory activities of 29 natural oleanane and ursane pentacyclic triterpenes were evaluated against four major enzymes involved in the inflammatory process: 5-LOX, 15-LOX-2, COX-1, and O COX-2. It was found that 3- -acetyl- β -boswellic acid potently inhibited human 15-LOX-2 (IC = 12.2 ± 0.47 50 μM). Analysis of the structure- activity relationships revealed that the presence of a hydroxy group at position 24 was beneficial in terms of both 5-LOX and COX-1 inhibition. Notably, the introduction of a carboxylic acid